"...an engaging book: part diary, part manifesto." The Guardian
A round-the-world bicycle tour with one of the most original artists of our day.
Urban bicycling has become more popular than ever as recession-strapped, climate-conscious city dwellers reinvent basic transportation. In this wide-ranging memoir, artist/musician and co-founder of Talking Heads David Byrne--who has relied on a bike to get around New York City since the early 1980s--relates his adventures as he pedals through and engages with some of the world's major cities. From Buenos Aires to Berlin, he meets a range of people both famous and ordinary, shares his thoughts on art, fashion, music, globalization, and the ways that many places are becoming more bike-friendly. Bicycle Diaries is an adventure on two wheels conveyed with humor, curiosity, and humanity.
Jeff Gordinier is a food writer.
on a train reading about bicycles @davidbyrneofficial #trainreading #newyork
photoamericanist
Give David Byrne's Bicycle Diaries a listen, particularly if you already own a folding bike. http://bit.ly/berVcB
I like sustainable transportation, accessible cities, and the Ottawa Senators. Transit planner in Metro Vancouver.
very few things sadder than going through David Byrne’s 2009 book Bicycle Diaries and reading the line “Bike-share programs are starting up in Ottawa, Denver, Minneapolis, Washington, D.C., and Toronto”.
"Entertaining . . . newcomers will enjoy these off-the-cuff sketches from an unpretentious cultural polymath; acolytes will cherish a closer look at Byrne's weird, wonderful brain chemistry."
--Time Out New York
"Whether you are a cyclist or not, Byrne's insights into everything from outside art to aboriginal folklore are wry, witty, and more often than not, wise as well."
--The Philadelphia Inquirer
"Reading Bicycle Diaries makes cosmic indifference a lot easier to deal with."
--The Seattle Times
"Mr. Byrne's music has every year grown more receptive to other cultures, and his diaries reflect the same ecumenicism." -- The New York Times